I thought the idea of this story was better than the actual final product. I love Flavia, and thought she brought a lot to the story. For some reason though, I just could not engage with this text. It is entirely possible that I read it at the wrong time. Perhaps I will give it another go. ( )

Our detective is an 11-year-old girl named Flavia who has far too great a knowledge of chemistry for someone her age. As with most girls that age, sibling rivalry is present. The mystery involves a dead bird with a postage stamp pierced in its bill, a dead body in the garden, her father's arrest, discovering things about her father's school life, some very rare stamps, and too little accountability for where she is and what she is doing. Still, it's a read that most preteen and young teen girls should enjoy. I'd give this a 3.5 star rating for adults but a higher rating for the intended audience so I decided upon a 4. ( )

Our main character, Flavia is, in a word, "precocious," is growing up in a crumbling old mansion in 1950s England with her terrorizing older sisters, her withdrawn father and the all-around handyman. Each sister is free to pursue her own passion, and for Flavia that is chemistry, and poisons in particular. When she finds a dead man in the yard, the evidence points to her father, who is arrested. But as she (and the police) investigate, suspicion falls on several different people, and she learns more about her father's past than she ever would have imagined.

This is pure delight, British to the core, from the fading aristocracy to the boys' boarding school to the taut, emotionless encounters between the family members. Flavia herself, while not always believable, is an irresistible character. I can't wait for more of her. ( )

I was told it was like Harriet the Spy, but it seems a bit more like a more realistic less wealthy female British Artemis Fowl, you know, without the fairies or super-villain resources. Oh and she doesn't seem to be trying to take over anything. ( )

I could not put this book down. Flavia is so enchanting and clever. I can't wait for Bradley's next book. ( )